Study for teller cage, Federal Reserve Bank, New York

Master blacksmith Samuel Yellin, who created ironwork for buildings throughout the country, was known for his superb craftsmanship and daring creativity. Around 1920, he designed the ornamental ironwork for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, designed by York & Sawyer in the Florentine Renaissance style and completed in 1922. In order to execute the bank’s wrought iron on time, Yellin had to double the manpower at his Philadelphia workshop to more than 200 workers. The Federal Reserve Bank project was one of his largest and most important commissions.

The bank’s main floor included a long corridor with a wrought iron bank screen atop a granite half-wall, punctuated by iron doors and teller windows. This object is Yellin’s study for a portion of the screen including a teller window.